. >> reporter: his remarks came one day after house speaker boehner announced the talks were stalled. >> well, this isn't a progress report, because there's no progress to report. >> reporter: his democratic counterpart nancy pelosi blamed boehner for the stalemate. >> what they offered in return was an empty letter, lacking in specifics. >> reporter: such is the state of negotiations, 23 days before the deadline, when federal income tax will revert to higher levels, and long-term unemployment benefits will dry up for over two million americans who have been out of work for six months or more. on friday, boehner did not rule out a compromise on a tax hike for top earners, somewhere between today's 35% rate and the clinton era's 39.6%. >> there are a lot of things that are possible. to put the revenue this the president seeks on the table. >> reporter: even if the two sides are making progress behind the scenes, no one expects them to admit it until the last minute. but the office of budget has asked for a list of possible cuts just in case there's no deal. >>> barely a month old, the